Professor Roger Crisp -- 'Moral Luck'

Thursday, July 6, 2017

Ye Olde White Harte

Imagine two negligent drivers, each fiddling with their radio controls while driving. By pure chance, one of them kills a pedestrian, while the other doesn’t. We tend to blame the killer much more; but has this driver really acted any more wrongly than the non-killer? And if so, what does this tell us about ethics, and should we try to change our attitudes? These are the problems of moral luck I will discuss in my talk, and I will argue that our sentiments have their source in ancient views of pollution we might now want to reject in favour of a morality based solely on what we will.

Speaker Profile

Roger Crisp is Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Oxford, and Uehiro Fellow and Tutor in Philosophy at St Anne’s College, Oxford. He is the author of three books. Two are on past philosophers – J.S. Mill and Henry Sidgwick – and one is on his own views, which are not dissimilar to those of Mill and Sidgwick.

The Hull Philosophy Club holds monthly talks from leading professional philosophers on various and wide-ranging philosophical questions (e.g., Does God exist? Do we have free will? Can computers think? What is love? How ought we to live? Is abortion morally justified?), all followed up by informal discussion over a pint. Our meetings are fun, accessible, and interactive. No background in philosophy is needed. All meetings are free to attend and held in the wood-panelled function room (the “Plotting Parlour”) of Ye Olde White Harte pub on Silver Street. Previous and upcoming speakers include, Robin Le Poidevin (Leeds), Peter Lamarque (York), Adrian Moore (Oxford), and Tim Crane (Cambridge).

Ye Olde White Harte" was built c.1660 and is a Grade II* listed building. The exterior is in the artisan mannerist style; the interior has extensive wood-panelling, including original 17th-century work. Local legend links the building with the onset of the English Civil War. The "Plotting Parlour" is supposedly where, in 1642, Sir John Hotham and others took the decision to refuse King Charles I entry to the town, precipitating the First Siege of Hull.